


A candle in the night

by Nightbirdsong



Series: Kingdom of Yongnian [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Part 1 of the epos series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 11:34:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6516883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightbirdsong/pseuds/Nightbirdsong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The difference between a Lord, a Prince, almost a King and a boy who grew up on the streets is obvious.<br/>It is even more obvious when Baekhyun tries to keep the children in the streets alive and all Chanyeol seems to be doing is getting on his nerves, just because he wants to know.<br/>And if Baekhyun is being honest, he is scared of the Red Lord and his Guard and the consequences of smuggling food out into the night<br/>when the soldiers are patrolling the streets and Chanyeol is dead-set on getting Baekhyun arrested.<br/>Or so he thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1 of my epos series all set in the same universe born from long nights playing the witcher and watching game of thrones

A/N: It's not beta-ed just so you know OTL  
And it seems like the person who gave me the prompt (you know who you are) has a thing for *cough* whore Baek *cough* and for letting me hurt that boy  
Maybe it's my way of showing my undying love for him, who knows? :D  
Enjoy <3

 

Baekhyun was once beautiful. More beautiful than most of the women in the great cities- his skin fair and unblemished, a small strip of freckles splattered across the bridge of his nose and his lips the faintest shade of pink.  
But the world is a cruel place and eve though Baekhyun was known for his beauty and wonderful voice and people used to flock to him like moths to an open flame, everything is taken away from you sooner or later.  
Now, with his skin littered with scars and never healing streaks of red glowing thin skin over cruel cuts, he is nothing more than a small flickering candle in a stormy night.  
No more wonderful flame, no more light to shine.  
Jealousy is a dangerous thing, Baekhyun thinks to himself while walking down the small slope the street forms before it drops down into a long flight of stairs that leads down to the lower areas of the city, one arm keeping the scarf in place he has slung around his head, the other holding a large basket with day old bread to his body to protect it from the pouring rain.  
The season is cold this year, sooner than expected and the rain is cruel and freezing where it hits the visible part of his face and the back of his hands, the small drops that land on his wrists stinging like tiny needles.  
Baekhyun hates needles. He has been stitched up enough for a lifetime and he would never ever let someone with a needle near him ever again. He has decided this a long time ago.

  
The streets are familiar to him even though it's almost dark, the little light he has coming from lamps hanging in front of houses or candles standing on windowsills and throwing small squares of light across the wet stones of the street and Baekhyun knows his way even though he can barely see far enough to not run into someone else.  
But who would be stupid enough to be outside in the rain? Only him.  
And the rest of the sad population of this city. Whores maybe, who were never lucky enough to work for the brothels, trying to catch the eye of a drunkard who is swaying past them on his way home to a wife and five children. Or the children who were left with nothing but the clothes on their bodies after the White guard burned down their houses and killed their parents, fortunes lost and generations doomed to be extinct within a single day.

  
It seems like a different life right now, but a long time ago Baekhyun was one of those children cowering away in the shelter of bridges and walls, trying desperately not to starve.  
He never knew his parents, never ate from a silver plate, but he saw all those rich little children die in the streets in the span of a single year. Some of them made it, some of them didn't. Baekhyun was lucky enough to get out of there.  
Because his face was pretty.  
He hurries down another flight of stairs, pressing the basket tighter to his chest with both his arms when the alleys get narrow and the water is rising higher, reaching up to his ankles and the mud clings to his cloak and weights him down.  
He has to slow down now, careful not to trip and hurt himself, finally letting go of his scarf to let it drop over his shoulders, hood still in place over his light brown hair, but it's useless anyways, already soaked like the rest of him.  
But he keeps it up nonetheless, ducking around small little huts built from scrap, abandoned buildings in the closed down part of the city not even the guards come to anymore. It was home for him and it is home for countless of children now and he whistles as good as he can, trying to be loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain and the sound of the water rushing like a giant monster in the river channel just behind the huts. A silent whistle answers him back and Baekhyun sees a door swing open just across the small clearing between the houses he is standing on and he takes a few quick steps onto the porch and walks inside the house cautiously, kicking the door shut behind him with his foot.  
The small hut he enters reeks of sweat and mold, of unwashed clothes and excrement, the floor under his feet squishing with water seeping from the ceiling with each step Baekhyun takes and it's almost entirely dark in here so he carefully sets the basket down and takes a few steps back again, calling out into the dark: “It's all I could get, sorry.”  
It's like watching starving wolves attacking a lamb, from everywhere in the dark hut there are children running towards the basket, shoving and whining to get to the bread first and Baekhyun has to yell over the ruckus the get them to quiet down so he can tell them to behave nicely and break their bread in two so each of them has something to eat today.  
Even in the dark all of them are dirty, their clothes torn and their faces smeared with mud, hair felted on most of their little heads and Baekhyun remembers that he looked the same before he managed to get out of here.  
He feels a slight pang in his chest at the thought that he won't see most of them when he comes back tomorrow. They would venture up into the higher parts of the city, looking for an opportunity to empty the pockets of unsuspecting women and maybe snatch an apple here or there. And some of them would not return to the hut, would get caught by the soldiers and would lose a hand or even their lives.

  
Baekhyun knows all of this and yet he can't hold them back from doing it.  
No one was able to hold him back when he was that age after all and the life down here is mostly about surviving or dying, becoming another nameless, faceless corpse until the White Guard would come and carry the body away to get rid of it in the ever burning fires of the temple in the North of city.  
“Big brother!”, one of the smaller girls calls out to him and he looks down to where she is standing in front of him, arms stretched out so he can lift her up and he does as she asks him to, bending down with a small grunt of discomfort when the skin of his shoulders stretches too far, the weight of her skinny body almost too much for his worn out arms.  
As soon as he has her cradled against his hip, her little arms go around his neck and start prying the hood from his head and he lets her, even lets her touch the scar over his right eyebrow when her small little mouth drops into a small o.  
“I want to have hair like you.”, she says silently, running dirty fingers though his wet hair. “It's so soft! How do I get hair like yours?”  
“When you are older your hair will be even softer than mine.”, Baekhyun smiles at her and pecks her mud-smeared nose. “My little doll. You have lost another tooth, right?”  
She smiles broadly and shows him the gap between her bottom row of teeth with a proud nod and Baekhyun glances around quickly before reaching into the back of his coat for the little wallet with silver coins and presses one into her little palm.  
“Don't tell anyone.”, he whispers and pecks her nose again, setting her down on the ground when the strain on his shoulders gets too much for him to bear.  
He sits down on a worn blanket one of the older children offers to him, listening to all their stories while stitching up holes in damp shirts and wet socks, laughing softly when Doll climbs into his lap and tries to help him sewing, her little fingers barely able to push the needle through the thick material of a linen shirt.

  
The rain has let up a little when Baekhyun finally leaves the hut, his basket now filled with woolen blankets and shirts, countless pairs of socks and he thinks for a moment that he should have brought more yarn, but then he remembers that it is hard enough to steal the little he brought and he is exhausted by the time he makes it out of the slums and back to the street, his cloak and pants soaked up to his knees with stinking water.  
Mother will be terribly angry at him again if he dirties a single carpet and he smiles to himself at the thought while walking slowly up towards the wall, hood and scarf secured over his head and around his face again.  
Life could be better, but it could be worse too and Baekhyun is thankful that Mother lets him stay around, even though he has hardly any value for her anymore- not when his face looks like that and he can barely lift a crate of bottles high enough to get it on the table.  
Baekhyun doesn't know what is worse. Being a whore or being a servant in the brothel.  
He has long lost count on how many shattered glasses he has picked up from the floor, or how many times he got screamed at by angry customers. He doesn't earn as much money now than he had before, but it's enough and Mother lets him stay in the brothel for free as long as he does his work and doesn't disturb anyone. It's a good thing to have him around, the other girls and boys always tell him with a grin when they need their clothes fixed or someone to braid their hair. He has small fingers and he doesn't talk much.  
Not when his lips are still bruised and the skin of the scar that runs straight over them down to his chin is still so tender that he can hardly speak at all, hardly eat at all.  
Baekhyun lost a lot of weight over the past few months, but he isn't skinny enough so that his ribs are showing or that his face looks hollow. He just looks skinny and pale all the time and people don't even spare him a glance when he walks past them in the salon of the brothel, collecting empty goblets or refilling them with wine or water.  
They don't look at him because he doesn't show his body, his face always hidden behind a soft white veil and the men know that Mother would whip them all if any of them attempted to pull it off his face. She did it once to someone who had grabbed Baekhyun and pulled him into his lap, getting a good feel of his behind with one hand while the other ripped the veil from the little pins in his hair, tearing out his hair and Baekhyun had screamed in terror, shielding his face from curious looks until the other whores had rushed over and had freed him from the drunkards hold and Mother had been so angry no one had ever dared to look at Baekhyun for longer than a second after that.  
He was her favorite once, still is. And it was for that very reason all of this even happened to him and Baekhyun would be bitter, if he wasn't that thankful.  
He loves her with all his heart, would worship the ground she walks on, but he is sad and quiet and she doesn't speak to him that often anymore. Not even Mother can stand to look at his bare face for long and it pains him to see the sorrow in her eyes.  
“You used to be so beautiful.”, she whispers sometimes when she is drunk and boneless in his arms when he carries her up into her quarters. “My little light. And now you are...”  
“Ugly.”, Baekhyun always finishes for her and tucks her into bed, pulling off her shoes and wiping away the paint from her face.  
She only looks at him with sadder eyes whenever it happens and then he leaves her, hiding himself away in his chamber, pulling blankets over his head until no one can hear his muffled sobs anymore. It's the only time he cries. When Mother is drunk.  
He didn't cry when it happened and he didn't cry when he first saw his face afterward.  
“It's okay.”, Boa always tells him when he helps her dress. “She got what she deserved for doing something like that to you.”  
“Of course.”, he always answers and thinks to himself: “But that didn't change anything.”

  
She.  
Taeyeon used to be his only friend in the brothel when he first arrived there, she taught him everything and she was the one who took the knife and sliced his face and his arms and his shoulders open, nearly killing him that fateful day last winter because she was envious of his fame, envious of the attention.  
It was her place, she screeched while she sat on his chest, knife digging deep into the soft flesh of his cheeks, into his lips and into his eyelids.  
“It's a wonder you didn't lose that eye.”, Mother says to him while stitching him up again and Baekhyun agrees while staring at the mirror he sits in front of, hands folded in his lap while she works the needle into his skin over and over again, countless times until the wounds are healed. They open up every other month, the rainy weather making it worse when his skin is soaked and he has to do more work than usual.  
Clean the rugs, wipe the floor, feed the horses.  
The King himself had taken the matter to his court- his General was the one the fight broke out over and he felt obliged to take care of it himself because of that very reason- and Baekhyun only saw him once. He was a gentle looking man, almost as small as Baekhyun himself, with round cheeks and big eyes that were glinting with something he couldn't place his finger on.  
It is hard to believe that this very man, who listened to Mothers story and looked at Baekhyun without even batting an eyelash at the gruesome wounds on his face, is the one who beheaded his own father with the very sword he has on his belt, the weapon almost innocent in its beauty. But maybe that's what Baekhyun saw when he looked at him that fateful day he last saw Taeyeon and listened to her pleas for forgiveness she didn't get.  
The King hadn't spoken the verdict. But he was there while it happened, fingers intertwined in his lap and eyes trained on Baekhyuns face with a knowing smile on his lips.

  
Baekhyun knows that the land is better off with this new King than with the old, but he can't help himself when he thinks that for someone who claims to be better and righteous, the new King does little to help the people of his capital city. Does little for his people in general.  
Not when there is war at the borders and the children are starving in the streets.  
He stops dead in his tracks when he nearly collides with the back of a soldier, the man hissing at him and shoving him away and nearly into a puddle. Baekhyun freezes for a moment, eyes trained on the forms of five big men in shining armor, but they are not the White Guard. Their cloaks are red, not white and there is a crest on their chest plates Baekhyun doesn't know for a moment while he watches two of them drag a man out of his house, barely dressed with his shirt hanging open over a skinny chest.  
There is a second solider following them out into the rain, barking over his shoulder for the wife to stay put, his helmet under his arm and he towers higher over the others.  
Not because he is remarkably taller than Baekhyun, but there is an air around him that makes his breath hitch in his throat and the hold on his basket to grow a fraction tighter.  
“It is our right!”, the man the soldiers have in an iron hold spits at the tall man and Baekhyun feels the sudden need to run for his life when his eyes meet the ones of the soldier for a second. “It is our food! We are starving down here!”  
“That might me true.”, the other answers calmly, slamming the door shut behind him. “But you didn't steal food. You stole two horses that were supposed to be send up to the battle front.”  
“And they are still our horses!”, the merchant bites out and Baekhyun fears that the taller man will kill him right here and now, but he merely smiles and jerks his head to the side in a sign for the other soldiers to drag him away.  
“What's there to stare at?!”, the one in front of Baekhyun snaps and he jumps with a yelp, quickly shaking his head and averting his eyes. “Get your ass off the street! Fucking beggars.”  
Baekhyun trots around them with his head still bowed, the basket in his arms suddenly feeling like it's filled with stones and he knows that he won't be able to come out here and give the kids the leftovers if the guards are patrolling the city.  
He has to try it nonetheless.

 

 

“It's the Red Guard.”, Boa says with her mouth full and Baekhyun rolls his eyes at her, setting down another stack of neatly folded blankets Mother gave him for the children. “The High Council decided to send them out to catch all those smugglers.”  
Baekhyun nods at her words, stuffing the freshly stitched socks back into his basket while the girl chats away behind him, scooping up her cold semolina pudding with her fingers.  
She's a talkative little thing, a little younger than Baekhyun if he guesses right, and she is one of the popular girls in the brothel, her waist narrow and her skin fair.  
Mother got her from one of the slave markets a year ago and Baekhyun likes her.  
He likes her even more when she starts helping him packing his basket and sneaking away apples from the dinner table. Mother knows all of this and there is no need to be secretive about it, but it is heart warming and Baekhyun even smiles at her sometimes.  
“They say-”, Boa starts around a mouthful of apple jam before she swallows. “They say even the Red Lord is out on the streets now. They need to get all the supplies to the battlefield or we will lose the war.”  
It's true but that doesn't make it better.  
“We didn't even start that war.”, Baekhyun mutters and Boa grins at him, her red lip paint smeared and her hair falling over her shoulders where Baekhyun has opened her hair from the tight braid earlier. She is pretty and Baekhyun finds himself smiling right back.  
“You're so gloomy.”, he accuses him. “Our beloved King will win this war and then everything will be better, right? He is such a handsome man!”  
A handsome man, indeed and very much taken, if one believes the rumors, but Baekhyun doesn't care and he still finds it endearing that some of the girls hope to get called up to the Palace some day in the future. Boa shuffles a little closer towards him, elbows propped on the table and Mother would chastise her for it. She has to behave like a lady and Boa never does.  
“Say...”, Boa smiles at him and picks at a lose strand of Baekhyuns sleeve. “Did you see some handsome soldier out there? Do you think they will visit us? The White Guard never does.”

  
Of course the White guard never does, Baekhyun thinks while he shakes his head in bemusement. Their Commander is a strict man and only the best soldiers make it to the White Guard- if any at all because the Commander is said to be very particular when it comes to his King and who is allowed to wear a weapon around him. Never would he let his soldiers visit a brothel. No matter how good that brothel might be.  
The General who visited Taeyeon and Baekhyun didn't stay General for long after all.  
“I did.”, Baekhyun answers her after he is done packing his basket. “It was dark, but two of them were very handsome.”  
“Really?”, Boa perks up and she flashes him a brilliant smile again. “Who was the most handsome? Was he tall? Did he have dark hair?”  
Baekhyun snorts again at her enthusiasm and runs a hand through his own hair while he recalls the encounter with the soldiers the other night. It was almost three days ago, but still he remembers the fear that was clutching his guts like a beast.  
“He didn't.”, he replies after a while, cocking his head to the side. “His hair was very light. He must be from the South. But he was tall. Very tall.”  
“I like them tall.”, Boa sighs and squishes her own face between her hands and Baekhyun laughs at her, poking her nose. “But of course he was from the South! The Red Lord himself is from the South and so is his Guard, right? It's only normal that there are a few with light hair among them! Oh I wish some of them would come here!”  
Baekhyun sighs and hoists the basket from the table, huffing a little and Boa makes as if to help him, but he stops her with a hand lifted in her direction while he balances the basket on his hip. She helps him open the backdoor even if he protests and smiles encouragingly at him, one fist raised in a sign to be strong.  
He nods at her and the door falls shut behind him, leaving him in the dark of the horse stables and he quickly pulls his hood over his face and walks around the fences to get out into the street. It's so late again that there is hardly anybody out here, but the rain has stopped and the wind coming from the sea is warm. So Baekhyun walks a little slower no matter how stupid it is and he is already halfway down at the second city wall when he hears a door crash open and loud laughter floods the night. There is music flowing out of the house, more laughter and the warm glow of a fire and countless candles casts a long streak of light over the street and Baekhyun sees a man tumble out of the tavern, shiny golden armor polished and the light of a flame dancing over it when the man bends over to the side and throws up into the gutter.  
The sound of his retching rips Baekhyun out of his stupor and he starts to walk past the man when he hears him call out.  
“You there!”  
He stops again, shoulders drawing up to his ears and he looks over his shoulder with a small cautious frown. The soldier straightens, one hand braced against the wall of the house and when their eyes meet Baekhyun knows he should have hurried.  
It's the same solider who dragged the merchant out of his house, but the red cloak is missing from his armor and there is no helmet under his arm, just a small grimace on his face and his light hair is tussled.  
“Come here.”, he demands and Baekhyun shakes his head softly.  
“I beg your forgiveness, but-”  
“I said.”, the soldier starts again and Baekhyun winces at the tone of his voice even though he is clearly drunk. It holds authority and he clearly is used to give orders that are to be followed.  
So Baekhyun takes a few steps closer, but the man seems not satisfied and reaches out to yank at the basket, making Baekhyun stumble forward.

  
“What is this?”, he demands to know and Baekhyun swallows around the lump in his throat.  
“Blankets and socks, Sir.”  
The stranger clicks his tongue and shoves a hand into the basket with so much force Baekhyun nearly drops it while the man rummages around inside it, nearly making some of the socks fall over the side of it and Baekhyun barely resists the urge to take a step back.  
His whole body is growing colder by the second and he is sure that he is shaking violently by now, his eyes wide while his teeth dig into his bottom lip even though it hurts terribly.  
“Where are you going with all of this?”, the man mutters and their eyes meet again, the soldier finally letting go of the basket and straightening. He is so much taller than Baekhyun that he feels like a dwarf for a moment, blinking rapidly while his brain races to find an answer that won't get him killed tonight.  
“I...”, he begins and looks down at the blankets that hang over the side of the basket. “I did some stitching on them to earn a little bit of money, Sir. I'm getting them back to their owner.”  
“In the middle of the night.”, the taller drawls and there is almost no hint of alcohol in his voice left. He crosses his arms over his chest, the armor making a small sound with the movement and Baekhyun does take a small step back this time, his shoulders drawing up against his neck again while the stranger lets his eyes wander up and down his body. “That's suspicious.”  
“Nothing suspicious about me, Sir.”, Baekhyun assures him with his voice trembling. “I just finished the work and-”  
He knows that his head is halfway through the noose already and with each word he speaks he is making it worse. The Red Guard isn't known for being exactly merciful and if the soldiers find out what Baekhyun is doing, he will end up hanging on the market like the other smugglers.  
“I don't believe you.”, comes the growled interruption and Baekhyun takes a shaky breath. “But go ahead. Just be warned that I have an eye on you.”  
Baekhyun turns around so quickly he nearly trips over his own feet, hurrying away from the soldier who is without doubt still watching him until the darkness of the street swallows him up and he can release a breath, one hand pressed over his racing heart.

He doesn't stay long with the children, doesn't count them like he normally does because he is sure that some of them aren't there tonight- or won't be there ever again- and when he walks back home, his basked empty once again, the tavern is still bustling with life and the laughter is even louder, but the soldier isn't waiting for him outside and Baekhyun feels his heart pound in his ears until he closes the brothels door behind himself.

 

“Nothing is better with the new King.”, Boa hisses while they sit in the deserted salon, Baekhyun on his knees with a rack that is already soaked in red wine and water. The soap makes his hands itch, but it's better to clean the carpets now than to wait and carry them outside where he can scrub them with a swab.  
Baekhyun doesn't answer and so she just keeps talking and he wishes for a moment that she would be silent so he could concentrate on getting the wine out of the rugs without pricking his fingers on the shards of glass that are hidden deep inside the soft fabric under his knees and hands.  
“He doesn't care about the low folks!”, he grumbles and shoves another glass down to the floor from the small table next to her. Baekhyun gives her a look when it rolls over the floor, but she ignores him and crosses her arms over her chest. After all Baekhyun is still invisible to everyone. Even to her.  
“No one cares.”  
“You don't know what you're talking about.”, Mother says suddenly from the staircase and Boa flinches. She isn't supposed to be down here- it's Baekhyuns job and not hers to clean up and she isn't really helping. Mother sent all of the whores upstairs to their rooms so they have room to work, but Boa never follows Mothers orders.  
Baekhyun sits back on his calves and watches mother walk down the stairs slowly, her eyes trained on Boa who looks like she wants to apologize, but the girl keeps her mouth shut and stares. He doesn't know Mothers real name or age, but she must have been the most beautiful woman when she was still young. Her hair is long and still silky, but there are small strands of gray and silver at her temples and in the back of her head, but she wears them with pride, unlike most of the ladies at the High Court who color their hair to hide their age.  
There are small wrinkles in the corners of her eyes when she smiles, but right now there are just deep lines around her mouth right now while she frowns down at Boa.  
“The King has other things to care about and you don't know how it was before.”, Mother says with her voice so calm Baekhyun is amazed for a moment.

  
He knows that there is anger inside of her. He knows that what happened earlier will have consequences for the men who nearly destroyed every piece of inventory inside the salon, but Mother had not screamed at them, had calmly walked outside and had gotten the White Guard to escort them outside. She is always in control and Baekhyun wishes he could be like that too.  
“But-”, Boa starts and Mother raises a hand to stop her words.  
“But there is a war at the borders and the King needs to focus on that. Everything is better now with the old King gone.”, Mother states and Baekhyun returns back to scrubbing at the carpet while she walks past him and sits down next to Boa.  
“They beat up Hyeoyon!”, Boa snaps and Mother looks at her with her lips pursed, the only sign of how angry she truly is. “And what do they get in return? A warning and an order to stay away! That's not enough!”  
“And what was the White Guard supposed to do?”, Baekhyun mutters and knows that Boa isn't even looking at him. “Do you expect the King to tend to every little thing that happens inside the city walls? He would never sleep if he did so.”  
“But he was there when Taeyeon cut open your face!”, Boa exclaims and gets up from the cushioned chair she was sitting on. Mother next to her clicks her tongue in warning, but Baekhyun is already staring at the girl with wide eyes. “He is just another man who sits on the thrones, eating and drinking and getting fat while the rest of us suffers!”  
“Careful now, Boa.”, Mother warns sharply and another voice from the door says:  
“Yes, careful now.”  
There are three things happening all at once.  
Baekhyun tenses at the sound of the voice, his body going rigid on the floor, rag still in his hand and pressed against the carpet. Boa slaps her hand over her mouth and Mother is up and out of her chair with a brilliant smile and Baekhyun wishes he could melt into the floor.  
“My Lord!”, Mother says with a small bow and he hears the soldier grunt something in return, the sound of heavy boots coming closer over the soaked rugs and Baekhyun tenses even more, going back to frantically scrubbing the rag back and forth over the already clean spot in front of him. Boa gives him a look, but Baekhyun ignores her and scoots away from the pair of boots that comes into vision next to him- to clean the next spot of wine of course.  
“I see they really did some damage.”, the soldier says and Baekhyun dares to glance up.

  
He looks younger in daylight than he did at night with only a little bit of fire lighting up his handsome face and when the man turns his head as if to look down at Baekhyun, he scrambles away, quickly pushing his rug into the bucket full of water and makes a run for it, awkwardly getting to his feet and taking a few steps away before the soldier asks: “Don't I know you?”  
“Oh I doubt that!”, Mother steps in with a laugh and Baekhyun thanks the Gods in that moment because the man directs his attention back to the woman and ignores him again.  
“He is just a servant, my Lord...?”  
“I am pretty sure I have seen him before.”, comes the slow answer, completely dismissing Mother subtle attempt at getting his name. “Boy! Were you out last night?”  
Baekhyun blinks rapidly and looks over his shoulder quickly, trying to hide his face as much as he can and he nods hesitantly. There is no use in lying now and he is pretty sure the soldiers recognizes him anyway. Better get this over quick.  
“I see.”, the still nameless soldier says and turns back to Mother with a small sigh. “My Lady, I just came here to get a look a the damage so we can decide for a proper punishment for the rascals who did this.”  
Mother bows a bit and Baekhyun knows that this is his chance to make a run for it, but he doesn't move a single muscle. Mothers eyes on his keep him from doing so.  
She is staring right past the tall man in front of her, a small crease between her eyebrows and Baekhyun knows that he is in for trouble later.  
“Thank you so much, Commander.”, Mother smiles and the soldier lifts an eyebrow at her, clearly amused by her words. He bows too and walks back over to the door before he stops again, not even turning when he speaks again.  
“You seem to have a fine establishment, Lady Yao. Make a reservation for me tomorrow. A single salon, if possible.”  
“What name should I reserve it under?”, Mother asks curiously and Baekhyun sees Boa shifting in anticipation, clearly hoping to get her chance with that handsome man in front of them.  
The guard takes his time to answer, opening the door to let in warm sunlight and he still doesn't look at them, simply says: “The Red Lord.”  
The door swings shut behind him and falls closed with a silent click, but it could as well have been the sound of a canon, all of them frozen in place and Baekhyun feels like cursing out loud for the first time in years.

 

 

Red Lord Chanyeol was born fourth son to the late King, to a mother that was as beautiful as she was fierce. No one ever saw her in the capital city before Chanyeol had reached manhood, but people always said she was beautiful. Of course she was. The King only took the most beautiful women. She was a noble from the South, daughter to a Lord herself and Chanyeol was born into a world that was as perfect as it was twisted. Like all of his brothers.  
Once a lanky little boy with limbs too long and smile too wide Chanyeol is now a grim warrior just like his older brothers are. He might not be as strong as the Black Lord, or as smart as the Golden Lord, but he has a good heart, a bright mind and most of all, he is a born leader.  
It has a reason why the new King and former White Lord keeps him close after all.  
People might think that Chanyeol is quite easy minded, what with those wide smiles and the still slightly lanky frame, but he is anything but that. He fought in battles in the name of his father, had slaughtered countless enemies on bloody fields with his own hands and there is no little boy in that armor anymore. Just a man that knows that he is no fool, no matter what people might regard him as.  
Oh no, Chanyeol is not an idiot. He has a perfect memory of faces, can recall names in a split second and there is one face that bugs him to no end. He only saw the little servants eyes the other night, but he remembers them. Would probably always remember them.  
They are of a clear brown color, almost like the chocolate that is serves in his hometown, a warm sparkling shade. What bothers him though is that he doesn't know why that boy bugs him as much as he does. His Commander snorted at him when he told him and Chanyeol knows he is probably reading too much into things. Not everyone that wanders off into the slums is a smuggler after all. But most of them are.  
So he returns to the Rose House, without his armor and without his guard, keeping a stoic face while girls flock towards him like moths to a flame as soon as he enters the house.  
Lady Yao is no where to be seen and so he tells one of the girls that he made a reservation and as soon as they hear who he is everything he already knows starts happening.  
They fawn even more, trying to get his attention while they usher him towards a thickly cushioned chair, nearly pushing him down into it and offering him wine and dried fruit and Chanyeol has to shoo them away from him to take a breath.  
The grand salon of the brothel is held in the traditional colors of red and gold, the furniture luxurious and made of dark wood and he wonders for a moment how they replaced all the smashed pieces in the span of a single night.

  
To think that Chanyeol never visited a brothel would be foolish, really, but this is one of the finger ones. But as odd as it is, he prefers the taverns in the lower parts of the city over the noble ones in uptown, the beer there colder, but bitter and he likes the loud voices, the music and the company of his men.  
He doesn't hear the servant approaching him and he barely manages not to flinch and recoil when the smaller male steps into his sight, hands folded demurely in front of his body and head bowed. There is a veil in front of his face and Chanyeol narrows his eyes, almost missing the servants faint voice when he tells him his name.  
“Baekhyun.”, he repeats then, more to make sure he really caught that, but the boy narrows his eyes too, a sudden flash of something in those brown orbs as he nods.  
“Please follow me.”, he says then with a bow and gestures over to the large staircase that leads up into the upper part of the Rose House and to the private salons and bedrooms. Chanyeol stands and follows him without another word, ignoring the various sounds coming out of the rooms they pass, eyes glued to the small mans back.  
When Baekhyun opens the door for him he is greeted with the faint smell of jasmine, the room a little bit cooler than the grand salon downstairs and it's completely held in blue and silver- the Kings colors, he notes with a crooked smile. Chanyeol steps inside, observing his surroundings like he always does, but by far not as much as his older brother the Black Lord would and nods slowly, showing Baekhyun that the salon is to his liking.  
“Would the Lord fancy some wine?”, the servant asks from the door while Chanyeol slumps down into one giant stack of pillows and he nods again, grinning a little while resting his arms against the low windowsill behind him.  
“Of course.”, he replies slowly, holding the boys eyes and he sees that something again, mixed with what might be a little bit of fear. He stands there for a moment, as if he waits for Chanyeol to speak again and then he turns on his heel and leaves, shutting the door behind him and Chanyeol uses the short span of time alone to close his eyes with a sigh.  
He spent days in that armor of his and the freedom of a light tunic from the South and the leather pants is almost heaven. They let him move freely, his arms not trapped when he wants to raise them higher above his head.  
When the servant returns Chanyeol opens his eyes again, watching him move carefully into the salon, balancing a tray between his hands with two small silver goblets and a tall bottle of dark red wine that has Chanyeol smirking a little. Lady Yao did her research.  
It's clearly a wine from his home, the almost black color giving it away and he is sure that this single bottle costs as much as an entire barrel they serve downstairs.  
He doesn't say anything, partly because there is nothing to be said, but then the servant tips over a pillow and nearly falls, the bottle swaying dangerously on the tray and Chanyeol snickers, earning himself a look from the boy whose face is still hidden by the veil.  
“Careful.”, Chanyeol drawls and gets up from his pillows slowly. “We don't want any of that spilled on those wonderful carpets, do we?”  
“Of course not.”, comes the silent answer, but it sounds like Baekhyun has to hold himself back from snapping at the Lord and he chuckles, reaching out with one large hand and tugs a little at the veil when the boy bends down to set the goblets and the bottle on the low table.

  
The reaction is immediate.  
He freezes, knuckles going white on the glass of the bottle he holds and then he straightens so fast Chanyeol recoils in shock. Eyes bore into his for a second and then Baekhyun bows, muttering in that same faint voice: “The girl will come see you now, my Lord.”  
Chanyeol knows he probably shouldn't but the words are out of his mouth just like his body moves on his own, one quick step across the small room, one hand braced against the door frame with the door already opened and the boy is trapped in front of him, Chanyeols arm blocking his way.  
“Did I say you could leave?”, Chanyeol rumbles out and Baekhyun tenses in front of him.  
“Was there anything else I could get you, Lord?”  
“Well.”, Chanyeol grins and tugs at the veil again, just to see the smaller wince and attempt to get away from him, even if the door is already pressed into his shoulder. “What would it take for you to be my company for tonight?”  
Baekhyun looks at him sharply, his head snapping around quickly and he meets Chanyeols eye for an endless moment before they flicker away again. “You don't even know what I look like.”  
“I don't have to see your face to fuck you.”, Chanyeol snickers and then suddenly there is something connecting with his chest so hard and painful it presses the air from his lungs. It's the tray, flat against his sternum and Baekhyun looks furious- at least the part Chanyeol sees of his face is furious- while he himself utters a small “oof”.  
“My Lord, I am a servant.”, Baekhyun bites out and cradles the tray against his chest. “Enjoy your stay. If you need anything, tell it to the girl who will accompany you today.”  
Then he is gone, only the pain in Chanyeols chest evidence of what just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: not beta-ed (again)  
Only one part to go!

He is crazy, Baekhyun decides when he walks out into the night again, hood over his head and the basket full of apples that were meant for the horses. The children need them more. So he is out here again tonight, leaving the last drunken guests at the brothel behind him, the kitchen cold and abandoned and Mother allows him to go with a wave of her hand. It's risky, of course.  
The Red Lord still hasn't left and Baekhyun thinks he knows why.  
It's because of what he does and maybe the man hopes to catch him red handed, but Baekhyun won't give him that satisfaction. He nearly runs down to the slums, this time not as careful and slow and spends almost an hour in the shack, stitching clothes and listening to stories about guards that almost chopped off hands and heads. Most of it are lies, but Baekhyun smiles nonetheless.  
He secretly presses another silver coin into Dolls tiny palm even though he is pretty sure that the tooth she is missing didn't leave it's place out of free will, but it's their little secret and he likes the way her little cheeks are red and a bit fuller than last time he saw her.  
She hurries away, giggling to herself and Baekhyun shakes his head while he collects more clothes to be patched into his basket, folding them neatly even though they're dirty.

 

When he comes back home the house is silent and empty, only the soft laughter from above telling him that some of the girls are indeed awake. He doesn't bother with anything anymore, setting his cloak and belongings down in the corner of the kitchen by the door and walks up to his own door, his feet heavy and his head swimming with exhaustion.  
What he doesn't expect though is to wake up with Mother sitting by his bed, a closed off look on her still pretty face, a hand stroking over his head and Baekhyun stirs a little under her touch, nervous fingers feeling for the cuts on his face, searching for wetness on his skin.  
But there is none and his eyes flickering towards Mother in question.  
“You didn't have to work today.”, she tells him softly, her hand still stroking his hair. “But there... There is something else I need you to do.”  
He opens his mouth and closes it again, suddenly afraid of what she will ask of him.  
Baekhyun never disobeys Mother.  
“The Red Lord wants you for tonight.”

The words feel like hot coals, they burn him from the inside out and he stiffens, eyes going wide while he shakes his head frantically. But Mother just clicks her tongue and pats his cheek gently, her fingertips gracing over one of the cuts. “You will do your best, my little one.”  
“I will.”, he mutters and turns away from her, curling up under his blanket to try and hide his trembling.  
“Thank you for letting me sleep, Mother.”  
She kisses the top of his head and leaves, but the door stays open and he knows it's a silent request for him to get out of bed and get dressed. He does so, slowly but he does it. When he wanders into the kitchen there is a group of girls around the table, one of them sighing deeply, a dreamy look on her face and when they spot Baekhyun all of them erupt into squeals and screams, one of them grabbing him by the arm and pulling him down onto a chair.  
“Oh Baekhyun!”, Boa grins and hops up and down on her stool a little.  
“You have to hear what happened to Hyorin last night! She was with the Red Lord!”  
“Lucky.”, another one sighs and turns away to get a glass of milk for Baekhyun, setting it down in front of him with a pat to the shoulder. “He is so handsome!”  
Oh, Baekhyun doesn't want to hear about how handsome that man is. He knows it himself, but he doesn't want to let it matter. There is nothing in this world he wouldn't do to run away from what has to happen tonight and he manages to bite his lip and take a sip from his milk while the girls continue to chatter.  
“He was so nice!”, Hyorin says and that dreamy look is back on her face, a small blush tainting her cheeks. “He treated me like a true gentleman! Poured the wine for me, made sure I was sitting comfortably! Ah... and he talked so gently. I am envious, Baekhyun! You will love him.”

Baekhyun doubts it and he sneers a little into his glass, sending Hyorin a simpering smile.  
The girls are used to his silence and so no one questions him while he barely eats any of the sweet rice pudding. He pushes his spoon into the bowl and lifts it, watching the white, almost soup like meal drip down back and scowls. He wants so badly to scream at them to stop talking about the red Lord, wants to beg Mother that she would refuse this man, but he knows that it's of no use. So he simply grimaces down into his breakfast and stays silent.  
Boa drizzles more honey over it and he sends her a small smile.  
She pats his head and runs her fingers through his hair, leaving him alone in the middle of the still gossiping girls and Baekhyun feels like crying. No one ever wanted him after his face got carved like this, ever since he got those scars and the Red Lord doesn't even know what he looks like. Baekhyun dares to think that maybe the man doesn't even want him in his bed. Maybe he just wants revenge for the slap with the tray and Baekhyun shivers at the thought.  
The Red Lord is one of the most powerful men in this city, one of the most powerful men in the entire country and he is pretty sure that even if he would chose to beat Baekhyun into a bloody pulp, he would get away with it.  
Out of simple spite he walks out of the brothel after breakfast, waving at the questions that are thrown his way and he spends some time cleaning the horse stables, desperately trying to think about something else- anything else- than tonight.  
He fails.  
There are thousand scenarios running through his head and when Hyorin calls for him to come inside so they can do his hair and make him pretty for the Lord he feels close to crying again.  
His eyes never find the mirror he is sitting in front of, too afraid of what will stare back at him and he keeps them on his hands while Boa and Hyorin work on his hair, braiding it and making it shine with special perfumes and oil they massage into his scalp before they dry it with a soft silken towel. They dress him up with little effort, putting golden bracelets on his wrists and a large golden ring onto his upper arm, a neckband around his throat that keeps the collar of the light tunic up he is wearing. It's see-through and soft against his skin and Baekhyun sighs a little when he remembers how often he used to wear these kind of fabrics.

  
When Boa starts working on his face, he tenses so much he has to press his fingernails into his palms not to slap her hands away, her fingers far too uncomfortable against the scars and he bites his tongue, still not looking into the mirror.  
When they are done Boa gives him a grin and a pat to the shoulder, pointing to the dreaded mirror and says: “Take a look! You are so pretty right now!”  
Oh, Baekhyun bets he is. As pretty as a boy with scars all over his face can be. But he does as she asks him to, directing his gaze to the mirror and his breath stutters for a moment in his throat. The first thing he sees are his eyes, lined with coal with his lashes oiled, fluttering across his cheekbones, the scar over his eye almost forgotten. It's a faint silver line under the layers of creams they have rubbed into his skin, the cut nearly invisible, but is still breaks up the line of his eyebrow and when Baekhyun pulls it up his eyes find another cut on his skin, on his cheek where Mother had to stitch him up again a few months ago.  
“Don't.”, Boa suddenly says and he turns to look at her. She is standing beside him, one hand on his shoulder and her eyes are on his face in the mirror. “Don't look at them. They don't matter now, Baekhyun.”  
But they do- always will- and Baekhyun only gives her a sad smile when he replies: “Thank you. You did a good job. I look almost presentable.”  
“You look more than that.”, Mother says from the door and all of them turn to look at her now.  
She is dressed in one of her finest dresses, long and made of the finest silk from the North, a collar around her neck made of lace that's so soft it melts right into her skin.  
Her dark hair is pulled up and away from her face, curled and braided like the courtesans wear it and Baekhyun finds himself smiling up at her when she offers him a hand. He stands up from the chair and Boa lets him go with a sigh, holding him back when he reaches the door to fix the veil over his face again. After all he still isn't pretty enough to walk around the brothel without it. He might scare other men off and nobody wants that. So he follows Mother out of the room and down the narrow flight of stairs to the official rooms, head down and hands folded in front of him. Down the hall he can hear Seulgi laughing, the sound of a door falling shut and then her soft steps approaching them over the thick carpet.

  
“Did you serve the Lord to his likings?”, Mother asks and Baekhyun shudders next to her.  
“Yes, Mother.”, Seulgi smiles with a curious look in his direction and he stiffens even more, turning his face away from her so she won't see the fear in his eyes.  
“Thank you.”, Mother says and Seulgi disappears down the stairs towards the grand salon. Mother doesn't say anything else until they are standing in front of the blue salon and Baekhyun is taking deep breaths through his nose by then, balling his fists and relaxing them again. Before he can open the door though, Mother holds him back and tilts his head so he has to look at her. She is smiling gently and there is worry in her eyes, but she just mutters:  
“You remember everything I taught you. You will be alright.”  
And then she is pushing him towards the door and towards a man Baekhyun is afraid of, but he can't disappoint her. He can never disappoint her. So he opens it without knocking, takes one final breath and pushes it open, lowering his head so he is looking at his feet when he steps inside, intertwining his fingers in front of him when he bows and mumbles: “My Lord. You requested for me?”  
The words roll down his tongue all too familiar and when he dares to lift his eyes towards the window he meets Chanyeols, boring right into his own, narrowed just a fraction.  
“Step inside and close the door.”, the other says and he shuts the door with his foot, not moving a single inch from where he is standing. The room is slightly warmer than the hallway, smelling like jasmine and tea and there is a waterpipe on the table in front of the Lord, soft smoke curling from the mouthpiece where it lays on the polished wood.  
“You look different.”, Chanyeol comments and leans back into his pillows, both arms on the windowsill on each side of his body. It's a casual pose he strikes, one knee bend and the other leg stretched out under the low table, hands open on the pillows on either side of him.  
“The girls-”, Baekhyun starts, but Chanyeol cuts him off right away.

“I found out what it costs to have you, you know? You didn't answer the question yesterday.”  
Baekhyun narrows his eyes too, finally straightening and he meets the Lords gaze with his fingers gripping tighter onto each other.  
“My Lord, I am not one of the employees. There shouldn't even be a price for me, because I am not for sale.”, he grits out and Chanyeol snickers, finally breaking their eye contact.  
“Not anymore.”, he comments and Baekhyun grinds his teeth. “I know your story. The wonderful Lady Yao shared it with me.”  
Baekhyun fakes a smile, still hidden behind the veil and answers: “Oh, did she? I see. Now, my Lord, how would you like to have me?”  
“Sit down.”, Chanyeol smiles, but there is almost nothing friendly in his voice when he points to the cushion next to him. “I would like to take a look at your face.”  
“You don't have to see my face to fuck me.”, Baekhyun shoots right back and for a moment Chanyeol stares at him with his eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened. But then he starts snorting, biting down on his lower lip as if to stifle his laughter and Baekhyun finds it strangely endearing, no matter how much he doesn't like the other man right now.  
“A feisty one.”, Chanyeol snickers and pats the cushion softly. “Take a seat. That wasn't a question. And please make sure there are no trays around you when you come near me.”  
Baekhyun almost laughs. Almost but not quite and he reluctantly makes his way over to where Chanyeol is sitting, slipping down carefully until he can sit on his calves with his hands in his lap. He knows that Chanyeol is raking his eyes up and down his body and he tenses a little, fingertips digging into the linen pants he is wearing and then the other man is reaching for his veil, fingers brushing against the side of Baekhyuns head where it's pinned to his hair.  
“Please don't.”, he whispers desperately, but Chanyeol is unyielding and lets the pins fall to the pillows next to them, the veil slipping away from Baekhyuns face, hanging on the other side of it by the rest of the pins.  
There is a long silence between them with Baekhyun screwing his eyes shut and breathing through his nose so hard he barely hears anything else than that and Chanyeol doesn't move, doesn't say anything and for the first time Baekhyun would be glad if he did.  
Anything, really.  
Just not the silence that was stretching longer and longer between them.  
“She really hated you.”, Chanyeol suddenly says and Baekhyun releases a breath and rips his eyes open, staring at the Lord in front of him with his mouth opening and closing again.

  
“I have seen many scars.”, the other man continues casually and trails a finger over the side of Baekhyuns face and he almost recoils from the touch on his skin, the hair in the back of his neck and on his arms rising. He is repulsed by it- but not because it's Chanyeol that is touching him as surprised as he is by the thought himself. It's because no one ever touches his face if they don't have to and Baekhyun has to close his eyes again, feeling tears prickling behind his eyelids. “Many scars. And I know how horrible it is to have them.”  
Then there is silence again and Baekhyun keeps his eyes closed. He still doesn't understand or know why Chanyeol wanted him here and he is scared. He really is scared.  
“What are you doing outside alone at night?”  
When the question comes Baekhyun almost smiles because he should have known.  
He should have known that it's because of that and nothing else and he shrugs, biting down on his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling for real. It's so easy to lie now, the words slipping over his lips with practiced ease when he answers: “I do nothing, my Lord. I patch up the clothes and return them to who owns them.”  
Chanyeol snorts. “And who would that be?”  
Baekhyun just shakes his head and meets Chanyeols eyes, not afraid for a second when he sees that the taller is looking at him with something that is achingly close to curiosity.  
No anger, no disgust.  
Chanyeol meets his eyes for just as long as they are silent and then he shrugs, a grin curling his lips upwards and then he mutters: “Alright. I will find out on my own then. Now. Since you are here already...”  
He leans forward swiftly and presses his lips to the side of Baekhyuns neck and Baekhyun goes rigid, his breath stuttering, but he lets the other push him back until he is laying on the pillows and has to stretch his legs to be comfortable, Chanyeol hovering above him, still kissing his neck almost tenderly.  
The sensation is strange and familiar at the same time. It has been so long since he last got touched like this and he shivers a bit when Chanyeol smooths a hand over his stomach and pushes up the tunic he is wearing, cold air hitting his skin and then fingers that are splaying over his ribs and up towards his chest. He lays there like a doll with its stings cut off, breathing through his nose and keeping his eyes on the ceiling while he tries to wrestle down the desperation that clings to him and makes him whimper, fists balling next to him and then, suddenly, Chanyeol pulls away and looks at him, eyes searching and looking directly into his soul and- Baekhyun can't do this.  
He sits up so fast Chanyeol reels back and when he is up and on his feet again he quickly bows and stutters: “I'm sorry, my Lord, I-”

  
Then he stops and blinks a few times. What is there to say? He can't do this.  
He spins around on his heel, fleeing for the door and leaves Chanyeol behind who just stares after him and Baekhyun is sure that there will be consequences for what he does, but his mind is racing, his heart is hammering in his chest so hard it's almost painful and when he runs down the hallway he rips away his veil and wipes his arm over his face to get rid of whatever Boa and Hyorin put on his skin. It creates lighter streaks on his forearm, over his hands and he keeps running until the door of his room falls shut behind him with a thundering bang.  
Baekhyun starts clawing at the bracelets, the tunic, the pants until he gets them off and throws them to the floor, watching the golden rings roll away over the wooden planks with satisfaction and he quickly changes into his servant clothes and runs again.  
He has to get away from here. Has to get away from the brothel, from Chanyeol, from everything. There are tears streaming down his face when he reaches the door, is standing on the streets in the cool night air and he takes a deep breath before he sprints down the street and towards the slums to where he belongs. Maybe he should just stay there with the children so he could never disappoint Mother again.  
He can't even do this simple thing for her and Chanyeol will be angry- most likely getting him whipped and Mother can't protect him this time, not from the Red Lord.  
The hut is empty when Baekhyun reaches it and he collapses down on his knees, clutching his chest and tries to breath, to do anything other than crying but he fails and he stays there for minutes and more until he has calmed down and is able to stand up again.  
He sways like a drunk man when he walks up towards the main street again, feet heavy and head empty and when he spots a small body laying on the side of the road in the gutter he stops for a moment, wondering if this should be him if it hadn't been for his pretty face.

  
It's Doll.  
Her fingers are broken and her throat is slit and Baekhyun knows that he has no more tears to cry. He feels empty right now, feels like he has no purpose in life anymore.  
All of the children would end up dead one day. May it be in a bed in uptown or in the gutter like Doll. No one ever makes it out of the slums in the end. Once a street child, forever a street child.  
Baekhyun sits down next to her, pulls her tiny broken body into his lap and leans back against the wall. He holds her like he did when she had the fever a month ago, stroking her hair gently, but this time he doesn't whisper sweet words to her.  
She won't hear them anyways. And Baekhyun will never give silver coins to her anymore.

 

He wakes up with a splash of ice cold water into his face and an angry hand that slaps across his face and his whole head whips to the side with the force of the hit. Baekhyun groans lowly and keeps his eyes closed while a voice above him bellows: “Get your filthy ass away from my house, you damned piece of trash!”  
Baekhyun doesn't move, just lets the merchant hit him again and he holds Doll a fraction tighter against his body when the man starts shaking him by his shoulder so violently his teeth rattle and he bites his tongue by accident. The man keeps screaming at him, but Baekhyun barely hears him. He feels like the entire city walked over his body, his head is pounding from the shock of the cold water and the hits that rain down on the top of his head and onto his cheeks and he know the scares there will open again- the skin is so tender there and so thin, it will break open soon and he will be bruised and stitched for weeks again.  
He groans again and wants to shield his face, but he still has Doll in his arms and a part of him refuses to let go of her. The merchant is spitting down on him, is spitting curses and insults but Baekhyun ignores them all. Who is he to fight back? He is no one, has no one.  
And he isn't strong enough to fight back so he just keeps his eyes closed and endures it all, the cold body in his arms a strange sort of anchor that keeps him down to earth. There are other voices muttering around them and they grow louder the more the man screams at Baekhyun and the more he kicks him and then suddenly there is a second voice so loud it makes Baekhyun flinch.  
“Hey! Hey! Stop that! Right now!”  
But the kicks and hits don't stop and then Baekhyun hears the sound of a sword being pulled from it's sheath, metallic and hard in the muttering around them and the curious crowd gasps and falls silent at once. Baekhyun finally dares to crack an eye open and for a moment he is blinded by the sunlight that is falling across the house wall he is leaned against.  
Above him stands a man in armor, red cloak billowing out behind him with the breeze coming from the sea and he holds his helmet under one arm while the other is outstretched and pointing a sword at what seems to be the merchant, who has his arms raised and takes a step backwards.  
“All of you!”, the soldier barks and swings the sword a tiny bit towards the onlookers. “Scatter! Does this amuse you? I will give each of you a whipping if you aren't gone within the next breaths I take, I swear to the Lord and Savior!”

  
And Baekhyun knows that voice, knows that soldier and his whole chest feels too tight for his heart that is suddenly fluttering behind his ribs. It's Chanyeol, the Red Lord himself with his sword pointed at a merchant in the middle of the street and Baekhyun wishes for a second that he could see his face.  
The crowd quickly scatters just like Chanyeol had told them and none of them dares to look back and then Chanyeol is looking back at the merchant and the man freezes where he stands, his whole body going rigid.  
“If you ever touch this boy again, I will kill you.”, Chanyeol seethes and the man scrambles away with an awkward bow, almost running back into his house.  
“And you!”, Chanyeol suddenly states and spins around, sword pointing at Baekhyun and his face is murderous, eyebrows an angry line above his eyes that are burning in anger. Baekhyun winces at the tone of his voice and the look Chanyeol gives and then the other man sighs and sheathes his sword, adjusting it on his belt before he crouches down in front of Baekhyun.  
“Are you insane?”, he asks and Baekhyun stares at him with wide eyes, blinking.  
He doesn't know what Chanyeol means- him fleeing from the brothel yesterday or that he spent the entire night outside with a dead girl in his arms- so he stays silent until the Lord rolls his eyes and leans forward as if he wants to take Doll from his hold and he reels back, pressing the girl against his chest with a hiss in the mans direction.  
Chanyeol narrows his eyes and finally takes a hold of Baekhyuns wrists, prying his arms away from the corpse he holds and he struggles when Doll slips down on his lap.  
“Please.”, he whispers in fear, but Chanyeol just lets go of him and reaches for Doll, taking her into his own arms before he stands up with ease, as if she doesn't weight anything at all.  
“Who is she?”, he asks down at Baekhyun who slowly comes to his feet on cramping legs.  
“My friend.”, Baekhyun replies with a breaking voice and Chanyeol lifts and eyebrow a him.  
Before he can say anything else, there is a second soldier of the Red Guard rushing towards them and Baekhyun watches Chanyeol exchange quick, hushes words with him before he hands Doll over and Baekhyun cries out and scrambles to his feet.  
But Chanyeol catches his wrist and stops him and the soldier just carries the girl away and Baekhyun knows that she will end up in the eternal fire. A nameless, faceless body.  
He feels tears roll down his face again, but he makes no sound and Chanyeol turns him around so he has to face the taller man, tilting his head with two steady fingers under his chin and their eyes meet for a long moment before he says: “She is dead, Baekhyun.”

  
He knows that. And even though he knows that it hurts to see her lifeless little arm swing left and right with the soldiers steps, slowly growing smaller and smaller in the distance and then they vanish between the houses and Baekhyun has nothing to look at anymore.  
Except for the man that is standing in front of him, silent and unmoving like a stone and when Baekhyun looks back at him, he finds Chanyeols eyes already on his face.  
He doesn't flinch even though he knows that in broad daylight his scars must look horrible and probably disgusting, but he doesn't care- for once he doesn't care and Chanyeol isn't looking at those scars. He is looking right at Baekhyun.  
“Come on.”, Chanyeol finally says and he lets the other take his wrist again and tug him up the street towards the brothel although he doesn't want to. He wants to stay in the streets where it doesn't matter what he does. He doesn't want to go back and look into Mothers face.  
Not when he disappointed her like this, no.  
Chanyeol is silent while they walk, but he never lets go of Baekhyuns wrist and it feels strangely safe to be lead like this, to have someone guide him through the maze that is Silver Haven until they reach the familiar red door between the wooden ones.  
As soon as they are inside Chanyeol lets go of him and Baekhyun walks on his own towards the kitchen, but he knows that the Lord is close behind and it gives him a sudden sense of safety.  
There are voices coming from the kitchen and from what it sounds like all the girls and boys are talking at once and when Baekhyun enters the room, everyone falls silent. They are staring at him with wide eyes and Baekhyun keeps his eyes on the floor with his head bowed slightly and then Boa exclaims: “Baekhyun!”  
A thousand questions hit him like a slap across the face and the voices are so loud he closes his eyes for a moment until the others fall silent again. When he opens his eyes again he looks straight at Mother who is coming down the servant stairs from the second floor and when she meets his eyes she stops walking, hand on the railing and mouth a grim line.  
Baekhyun never was that scared in his entire life before.

  
Someone tells Mother to not get upset, but she raises a hand and walks down the stairs and over to Baekhyun until she is standing right in front of him. He waits for her to slap him, but she doesn't. She just looks at him for minutes and he almost recoils when she raises her arms and hugs him so tight he can't breath. The others shuffle nervously and then Hyorin is ushering them out of the kitchen and Mother whispers into his ear: “You had me scared.”  
“I'm sorry, Mother.”, he answers and she leans her head against his, just holding him until she lets go and looks over his shoulder where Baekhyun knows the door is slightly open.  
“He brought you back.”, Mother says silently and takes a step back to look into his eyes, hands on his shoulders with a small smile tugging at her lips. “He is a good man.”  
Baekhyun blushes for reasons he doesn't even know himself. He breaks their gaze and turns back to the door, but Mother stops him with her hands still on his shoulders.  
“You shouldn't have run away, Baekhyun. He could have decided to whip you for it.”  
And Mother should have never made him do it in the first place, but he doesn't say it.  
He just nods and avoids her gaze, too ashamed to say anything, to do anything.  
Chanyeol is still sitting in the grand salon when Baekhyun returns from the kitchen and he stands up as if Baekhyun is some sort of fine Lady that needs to be acknowledged and he almost smiles at the taller because he looks like he really wants to bow and the thought is strange and stupid at once.  
“Thank you.”, Baekhyun says and Chanyeol nods, again looking at Baekhyun like there are a thousand questions he wants to aks, but he doesn't. He just takes a step forward and brushes the back of his hand against the side of Baekhyuns face, right over the biggest scar that curves over his cheekbone and into his hair and Baekhyun wants to close his eyes at the gentle touch, wants to lean into it but then it's over and Chanyeol mutters: “Someone should get a look at that eye. It will bruise.”  
Baekhyun stands there when Chanyeol leaves and touches the spot the other man had just brushed his hand against and Baekhyun doesn't even understand why his stomach feels heavy and churning like he is about to throw up.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Last part! Much much MUCH love to those who read it!  
Hope you liked it! <3

 

The merchant did some damage on his face and Baekhyun has bruises for days and Mother doesn't allow him to go out of the house, not alone. She doesn't even allow him to visit the market on his own and the constant company is wearing him thin.  
He doesn't like the mindless chatter the other courtesans seem to constantly make, the pointless conversations about who paid the most for their service or who is married and who is not. He doesn't care about anything like that, but they don't seem to notice.  
Because he is always silent and doesn't talk much anyway, so they fill the silence with more meaningless words until Baekhyun feels close to ripping his own hair out.  
A week later he manages to slip away from Mothers hawk eyes and prepares a basket- not even Boa knows he is doing this- but when he makes it out into the night there is someone waiting for him by the tavern down the road and Baekhyun almost doesn't recognize him.  
Chanyeol isn't wearing his armor and he looks so different with a red tunic and a black leather vest on top of it that Baekhyun does a slight double take at him that has other snickering.  
“I knew you would come out tonight.”, the Lord says and Baekhyun replies: “Why?”  
Chanyeol shrugs and pushes off the wall he is leaning against, arms still crossed while he walks over to Baekhyun and tugs at the basket.  
“The Rose House is full tonight. No one needs you there when your face is bruised and Lady Yao is busy, so it was the perfect opportunity for you to get away.”, Chanyeol answers and it hits home quite well and Baekhyun doesn't like it how easily the taller can see through him.  
So he purses his lips and turns around, probably a lot faster than Chanyeol expected because the man takes a step back in surprise, but follows him nonetheless when Baekhyun starts walking again, steps angry and fast.

  
“I could arrest you, you know.”, Chanyeol continues casually and Baekhyun shoots him a look over his shoulder. They are past that already and he knows it, but Chanyeol is smiling as if what he just said is the funniest thing in the world and Baekhyun wants to throw an insult at his head. But he doesn't, just glares and Chanyeol points to the basket.  
“You're smuggling.”, he stresses and Baekhyun shakes his head and looks ahead again, making a sharp right as soon as they have passed the city wall. “The army-”  
“The army has no need for children clothes or apples that are supposed to be fed to horses because they have dark spots.”, Baekhyun interrupts him softly while he is squeezing himself through the gap between two fences that are hardly standing anymore, the planks crooked like teeth in a old woman's mouth and Baekhyun glowers at Chanyeol when the other man simply climbs over it with ease. He is taller than Baekhyun, his legs longer and he isn't wearing a cloak that is way too long for him and is dragging through the dirt and mud that is covering the small stones of the street.  
“That might be true.”, Chanyeol counters with the same smile and Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him again, suddenly feeling antsy with the way Chanyeol keeps following him deeper and deeper into the slums until they can hear the river thundering behind the huts. “But the army needs everything we can spare and the King needs his soldiers to be healthy and strong so they can protect the people of his land. And I don't suppose Lady Yao would be happy if she found out you are stealing the horses apples.”  
Baekhyun bites his tongue at the words, desperately keeping himself in check to not give away the fact that Mother knows what he is doing. It would get her into trouble and Baekhyun doesn't want that. If there are consequences, he is the one who has to face them.  
“Why are you following me?”, Baekhyun finally asks silently and Chanyeol stops in his tracks for a second before he shrugs his shoulders and answers: “I want to know.”  
It's a simple reason and Baekhyun might have scoffed at him if not for the fact that he is not the same person anymore and all his witty comebacks and taunting smiles have vanished.

  
So he just stares at Chanyeol while they stand in the clearing in front of the normal shack the kids stay in and the other man looks right back at him with his head cocked slightly to the side, eyes never leaving his even though they flicker to his cheekbone for just the fraction of a second and Baekhyun nearly touches the spot when he is reminded that there are bruises on his face that only add more to the look of a monster.  
“Leave me alone.”, Baekhyun eventually begs him silently, but the Lord shakes his head and this time there is no smile on his lips, no sympathy in his eyes.  
“Big brother!”, a silent voice comes from behind him and Baekhyun closes his eyes with a frown, already hearing the hurried steps that are coming their way and then they are surrounded by children that are tugging on his basket, on his cloak and on his arms for his attention, but they completely ignore the taller man in front of Baekhyun and Chanyeol seems confused for a moment.  
“What did you bring this time?”, one of the older boys asks excitedly.  
“Did you stitch that hole in my shirt?”, the next one wants to know.  
“Brother you will never believe what Wooyoung and Seojin did!”, a girl to his right laughs and grabs his arm with both her hands, nearly making him lose his balance. “They stole an entire ham from the market! We still have something left! Do you want some!”  
“Big brother did you bring bread again?”  
“What is inside the basket, big brother?”  
They are talking all at once but then they all fall silent and turn towards Chanyeol who is snorting silently behind them. Ten pairs of eyes meet his and the Lord seems even more bemused then, balling a fist and hiding his wide grin behind it while he is shaking slightly with laughter. Some of the kids instantly hide behind Baekhyun- the smaller ones, fingers curled into his cloak and their little faces peeking out from behind his back- but the older ones instantly puff out their chests, push those who are not hiding behind Baekhyun so they are standing between the smaller children and Chanyeol.  
“Who is this?”, a girl whispers and Baekhyun looks down at her, blinking a few times before he looks back to Chanyeol who lifts his eyebrows at him as if he wants to ask too: “Yes, who is this?”  
“A friend.”, Baekhyun decides after a long silence and he half expects the kids to flock towards Chanyeol like they normally do with him, but all of them stay unmoving around him and he sighs silently, adjusting the basket on his hip. “Come on, kids. Let's get inside before I drop the basket. My arms are hurting.”

  
“If he is a friend!”, Haeyin suddenly says behind him with her eyes narrowed at Chanyeol. “Why didn't he carry the basket for you, big brother?”  
“Because I didn't want him to.”, Baekhyun answers briskly and turns on his heel, startling the children around him enough for them to let him go and walks over to the hut, setting down the basket on the small porch before he climbs onto it and sits down, feet dangling above the dirty ground while he lifts the blanket that is on top of the thing he brought tonight.  
The kids are at him in a matter of seconds, basically ripping the basket apart in their haste to get to the food and other things Baekhyun brought them today, cheering in glee when they find the little ball that is hidden on the bottom. They start kicking it around in the clearing, making up rules and dividing each other in teams and Baekhyun watches it all with a smile, ignoring Chanyeol completely, who settles down next to him on the porch, arms folded over his chest. When the other man clears his throat, Baekhyun glances at him from the corner of his eyes, raising his eyebrows and Chanyeol says: “You know it would be better if you brought them to the orphanage.”  
“They don't want the orphanage and there would be nothing better.”, Baekhyun snaps and throws Chanyeol a glance so burning it has the other man clicking his tongue at him.  
“But-”  
“You don't understand.”, Baekhyun interrupts him as soon as Chanyeol starts speaking again. “The orphanages don't take children just because they are kind-hearted. Every single one of them needs to be fed and they need clothes and a bed. It's not a better place than this.”  
He isn't looking at Chanyeol while he speaks and his voice is slowly dying until his last words are hanging between them like a raincloud.

  
Their silence is interrupted by one of the smallest boys crawling into Baekhyuns lap and snuggling close to his chest, thumb between his lips and eyes drooping already when he starts pulling on Baekhyuns tunic with his free hand, dirty fingers leaving small brown spots on the white of his shirt. “Big brother.”, he mumbles and looks up at Baekhyun with wide, innocent eyes. “My teeth hurt so much.”  
“I know.”, Baekhyun coos at him and wraps an arm around the boy so he wouldn't slip from his lap when he shifts a little to pull out his thumb from between his lips. “This one will fall out soon and then it won't hurt anymore.”  
His heart is aching in his chest because it reminds him of Doll and the silver coins he gave her for each of her little teeth that she lost. And now she is gone and Baekhyun doesn't have silver coins anymore because he doesn't want more of the children dead in the streets.  
“Can I sleep on your lap, big brother?”, the boy asks sleepily and Baekhyun nods, still cooing at him and pressing small kisses into his dirty hair. He doesn't mind the smell, doesn't mind the mud and grime the children are smeared with. Chanyeol is watching him and he knows it, but he doesn't care. Let the Lord see what is going on in the streets, let the Lord see how many children are dying under the very nose of their oh so gentle new King.  
“I see.”, Chanyeol mutters after endless minutes, the boy sleeping in Baekhyuns arms and the other children cheering in front of them while they still kick the ball back and forth between them. And Baekhyun is surprised to say the least when the older boys suddenly run towards them, still sitting on the porch and start pestering Chanyeol to join their game.  
The Red Lord does.

 

It becomes some strange sort of routine that Chanyeol comes with him to the the slums, when he is free from his duties, not in armor and not the Red Lord in that moment. He is the friend for the children and after a while they start asking where he is when Baekhyun shows up alone. They don't talk, most of the time, but Chanyeol is a pleasant companion while walking the streets, especially when it's already dark outside and Baekhyun has long stopped asking how Chanyeol knows when he will be leaving for the shack.  
Mother only smiles at him when he tells her, running tender fingers through his hair while she is washing it, pouring warm water over his head that is smelling like jasmine and lavender.  
She doesn't say anything, doesn't tell him it's dangerous and Baekhyun suddenly thinks that maybe fate is in his favor just for once.  
Chanyeol comes with him to the slums, plays with the children and one day Baekhyun even lets him carry the basket. When they do start talking, it's slow and it takes a long time for smaller to tell the Lord what happened to his face. He tells Chanyeol about Taeyeon, about the knife she had pressed into his skin and how he had wished he would be dead.  
“I'm glad you aren't.”, Chanyeol says when Baekhyun stops talking, eyes trained on the children in front of them who are dividing the food they got like Chanyeol taught them.  
“Because of the children of course.”, he adds then and Baekhyun suddenly feels like his chest is tightening and he wishes for a moment Chanyeol would have a different reason to say that.  
And Chanyeol tells him about his life, tells him about his mother back in the South and his brothers who are so much stronger than him. He tells him about the Black Lord in his castle in the North, that is built of Red Glass and Dragon Ice and he tells him about the King who is the one who saved all of their lives by killing their father.  
He had such a different life, Baekhyun realizes and smiles sadly. Even though they both like to read and Chanyeol loves to bring him little pieces of chocolate from the West, just because he can and he knows that Baekhyun loves it. There is always a gap between them.  
Because Chanyeol is a Lord and a Prince and Baekhyun is nothing but a whore and a street rat.

  
They walk back towards the Rose House when the sun is already setting and there are people swarming in front of the brothel and one of them hisses in Baekhyuns direction, spitting on the ground in front of him.  
“Useless whore.”, he mutters and Chanyeol seems like he is close to punching the man, but Baekhyun holds him back and leads him to the backdoor where they usually say their goodbyes. He is used to his former regulars being disgusted by him and it only brings a sad smile to his lips when he thinks about the fact that they were all over him when his face was still beautiful and unblemished.  
“I don't care about what they say.”, he tells Chanyeol as soon as they are standing in the back by the horses, the door behind him already opened and the voices of the girls filter out into the night around them, Chanyeols eyes burning into his and Baekhyun nearly cowers under his gaze. The Lord has never looked at him like this and it scares him for a moment, no matter how much he smiles and tries to ignore the churning low in his stomach.  
Chanyeol doesn't say anything and Baekhyun keeps smiling up at him, a hand reaching behind himself to push open the door and leave like he always does, but Chanyeol stops him this time.  
He stops him with a hand on his shoulder, turning him so that his hand on the door-handle pulls the door closed and the noises from inside the kitchen stop. They are standing in the dark now, only the light from the small lantern by the stables washing over them and casting shadows over Chanyeols face. When he leans forward, hand slipping over Baekhyuns neck, the smaller male meets him halfway, lips meeting softly in the middle.  
They stay like this for minutes, lips pressed together gently and Chanyeols hands cup each side of Baekhyuns face to keep him close. It's something innocent and simple until Baekhyun makes this small little noise in the back of his throat and Chanyeol steps closer, nearly backing him up against the door behind him and Baekhyun lets him, lets him press closer until their chests tough and their kiss grows painful because their lips are pushed against each other so hard it puts a strain on the soft skin of Baekhyuns scar there.  
When they part from each other they are both breathless and Baekhyun is sure he is blushing furiously. He can admit to himself that he likes Chanyeol, that the Lord is handsome and that he thought so from the very moment he had met him the first time all those weeks ago.  
“You're not useless and you're not a whore.”, Chanyeol whispers against his lips and Baekhyun whimpers, fingers curling in Chanyeols shirt right above his heart. “You're kind and gentle and beautiful, Baekhyun.”  
The way the taller says his name has Baekhyuns eyes flutter shut and he leans forward to kiss the Lord again, arms wrapping around a strong neck and Chanyeol smiles against his mouth while he kisses him back, one arm hugging Baekhyun close.  
He doesn't know how it happens that he takes Chanyeol by the hand the moment they part again and leads him inside, careful not to run into any of the girls or boys- or Mother herself- but all of them are busy with the guests tonight and the small narrow staircase up towards Baekhyuns room under the roof is empty and dark.

  
Chanyeol doesn't say anything, not even when the door to Baekhyuns room closes behind them and they are alone in the silence while Baekhyun lights a single candle on his dresser and then Chanyeol is behind him, running his hands over his shoulders and over his arms until they are flush back to chest and Baekhyun leans back into him with his eyes closed when the tallers lips find his fluttering pulse at the side of his neck.  
They stumble to the bed a little awkwardly and this time Baekhyun doesn't struggle when Chanyeol pushes him down and pulls off his shirt until the smaller is laying almost naked under him with his cheeks red and his eyes glassy.  
He knows that he has scars and that his body is far from perfect, but Chanyeol doesn't seem to care when he starts peppering kisses along his jaw and neck, down to his chest, where he is tracing the remainders of wounds on his shoulders and sternum.  
And then he knows why Chanyeol doesn't care, because the Lord is shrugging off his own tunic and is throwing it to the side, sitting on the bed between Baekhyuns spread legs with his knees bumping against the smaller mans full thighs. He has scars of his own, white and stretched over firm muscles under slightly tanned skin. They are looking like lightnings, faint and silver, crossed over his sides where blades were cutting into his skin.  
But Baekhyun doesn't care either.  
They kiss for minutes, hands running over soft skin and hard muscle, memorizing and almost worshiping each other while Baekhyun sighs and mewls into Chanyeols mouth, rolling up against him with his back slightly arched, but Chanyeol still takes his time.  
He undresses them both so slow, with the patience of a man who is used to wait, each new patch of skin revealed to each other instantly peppered with kisses and soft touches of nimble fingers. Baekhyun is nearly sobbing when Chanyeol starts working him open with his fingers slicked with oil, pressing into him so deep it forces a strangled moan from his lips.  
It's been so long since he was last touched like this, so long since someone looked at him like this and his eyes are burning by the time Chanyeol is in three fingers deep and keeps them still for a moment, whispering sweet nothings into the side of Baekhyuns neck, his hair and into his mouth when he kisses him tenderly.  
“Please.”, Baekhyun breathes out after a while, hips working back against the fingers inside him that are buried inside of him and Chanyeol knows what he is asking for without him even saying it out loud. He pulls his fingers out and slicks himself up with the oil that is laying in a small flask on Baekhyuns nightstand and then he is there between Baekhyuns legs again and he wraps his legs around Chanyeols hips to keep him close, to urge him on, but he still he is biting his lip so hard it is painful when the Lord finally pushes into him.

  
It's slow and it burns and it has Baekhyun keening softly, but Chanyeol is hushing him with loving touches to his sides and to his hips, rocking into him until he is fully seated before he gives him a moment to adjust, to catch his breath before he starts moving.  
Baekhyun can do nothing but hold on to him, eyes closed and hands tangled in wonderfully soft light hair, puling Chanyeol in for a kiss that has them both panting for air after a while.  
It doesn't take long for Baekhyun to come undone under Chanyeols body, writhing and whining and begging until the taller touches him, wrapping long strong fingers around Baekhyuns member and stroking him in time with his thrusts until it sends him over the edge.  
He is crying out so loud he is sure that someone hears him, but he doesn't care.  
He can't.  
Not when he has this beautiful man above him who is panting into the side of his neck and biting down on his shoulder when his body locks up, hips driving forward so hard it has Baekhyun jostling on the bed a little bit and then he stays still, hips bucking softly once, twice and a whimper leaves his throat while Baekhyun is kissing his shoulder and collarbone, running tender fingers through his slightly sweaty hair.  
They stay like this for a moment, silent and still, breathing each other in until Chanyeol pulls away and out, falling to the bed next to Baekhyun and wraps his arms around his body to keep him close, to have him flush against his body and Baekhyun lets him.

 

Baekhyun knows they are something more now, but neither of them talks about it.  
They don't kiss the next time they meet up, but Chanyeol walks close to him and Baekhyun lets him carry the basket again. The children aren't there by the time they arrive at the hut and they decide to unpack their things and leave them on the porch where the kids will find them when they return. Baekhyun knows that it's always an if they return.  
But Chanyeols hand on the small of his back is reassuring and he lets himself not think about it, because they are sitting on the porch and are watching the sun setting above the river that is thundering past them.  
“I'm going back to war.”, Chanyeol suddenly says when their fingers are intertwined between them on the wood of the porch and Baekhyun freezes next to him, head whipping around to face him and for the first time he sees Chanyeol smile sadly like Baekhyun normally does.  
“I will come back.”, Chanyeol assures him, but Baekhyun is aware that it might be a lie and before he can say something, the other is leaning down and kisses him again, keeping him still with a hand in the back of his neck. They have their foreheads pressed against each other for a moment and Baekhyun knows he is crying when Chanyeol runs his fingers through his hair and is kissing him again, brushing away salty little drops from the corners of his eyes with his thumbs. The world isn't fair and it would never change, but Baekhyun feels like his happiness is always ripped away from him over and over again.

  
He is a whore after all, a useless one and Chanyeol is a soldier, a Lord and he would die on the battlefield like all the others. The war is a place where you go and not return. Baekhyun doesn't speak for a while, throwing himself wordlessly at Chanyeol and they make love right then and there on the porch of the old shack that was once Baekhyuns home while the sun is setting and the children don't return.  
“When I come back...”, Chanyeol starts as soon as they are back at the Rose House and Baekhyun is opening the backdoor slowly, their fingers slowly slipping away from each other.  
“Will you be mine?”, the Lord asks, his voice sounding unsure and Baekhyun turns around to face him once again, smiling and teary and perfect while the light washes over him from behind and Chanyeol feels like he is looking at an angel instead of a broken man that has seen to many cruel things in his life.  
“I will.”, Baekhyun answers and kisses Chanyeol one last time before he turns and walks into the house, shutting the door behind him with tears streaming down his face and Boa staring at him like she has seen a ghost from the kitchen table.  
He doesn't answer her question and he is practically shutting the world out the following days and nights, working silently and not smiling a single time. Mother knows.  
She is giving him this look again when she washes his hair, when he walks past her in the hallways and when he slips into her bed one night, curling up into her side and cries until he falls asleep. She knows and it's good that she does, because Baekhyun can't pretend he is happy anymore. Not when he knows he is in love with the Red Lord and he will never see him again. He would have been his, he tells Mother one morning when he is unpacking his basket and she helps him stitch up socks in the kitchen.  
“You are.”, Mother simply says and kisses his forehead when she gets up. “You are his.”  
It's true and it makes Baekhyun cry more at night.  
Months pass without Chanyeol returning and Baekhyun stops waiting for him, stops telling the children that their friend will come back to play a game with them. He stops eating one day and Mother forces him to, feeding him soft porridge when he starts throwing up.

  
Now they care for him again like they did when his face was sliced open and Baekhyun starts smiling again one day after five months, the streets covered in sheets of thick white snow.  
He dresses up again, lets the girls apply paint to his face, lets them braid small beads into his hair and helps them cook at night when they are off work and they gather in the Grand Salon to exchange stories and eat and laugh together.  
He might not be laughing, but he is smiling and it's a start and all of them see it.  
When the new year starts Baekhyun is almost back to his old self, caring for the whores when they had a rough night and carrying around children in the streets. Mother has taken in two of them as servants and one of the older girls as a whore and Baekhyun teaches her all she has to know. It's good the way it is and Baekhyun knows it's not for him to be happy.  
The snow is already melting when the first soldiers are coming back form war again and Baekhyun hears that they have won. The King is holding church on that Sunday and Mother wants to go, but he can't. He can't see the row of Princes by the Kings side, can't take it to look at them and know that Chanyeol isn't there.  
The Rose House is empty and silent that day and Baekhyun packs his basket again and leaves for the slums, ankles sinking into soft mud and melted snow. But he stops dead in his tracks when he sees someone sitting on the porch, surrounded by children who are laughing and squealing, “ohhhs” and “aaahs” reaching his ears and he drops the basket with a thud when he sees the man clearly.  
It's Chanyeol, his hair longer and new scars along his neck and one of his eyes hidden behind a batch of white bandage. He is talking animatedly, gesturing with his arms and falling backwards in order to demonstrate something and the children are “oooh”ing again and Baekhyun is crying.  
It is in this very moment that Chanyeol looks up at him, grinning widely and Baekhyun leaps forwards, slapping a hand across his face and then kissing him square on the lips, crying and sobbing when the Lord simply hugs him close and pulls him into his lap on the porch.  
“Ewww.”, one of the children makes and Baekhyun laughs into Chanyeols neck, still keeping him close because he doesn't trust reality and thinks he is dreaming.  
But he isn't.

 

A/N 2: Like I said this is a part of a series I'm writing/working on!  
So if you guys liked it, maybe you can stick around for some more ALL THE LOVE


End file.
